The BJP cannot take major decisions sidelining Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and has to respect his likes and dislikes,said Shiv Sena in an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamna on Saturday,drawing the inference from events that unfolded at BJPs two-day national executive that concluded in Mumbai on Friday. The Saamna editorial also called upon the BJP to bring some former allies back into the NDA fold and to defuse human bombs in the party,in an apparent reference to former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa. Referring to the ouster of Sanjay Joshi from the BJP national executive on Thursday,the editorial said Modi had ensured his likes and dislikes were respected by the party. It said Modis consent had to be obtained to pave the way for Nitin Gadkaris second term as BJP chief and for that,Joshi had to be made the sacrificial lamb. The Sena also cast doubts on future role of senior BJP leader L K Advani in the party with the editorial remarking that although he was so far the sole PM candidate in the party,new leaders were now stepping on the stage. Yeddyurappa had in fact remarked that Modi should be the BJPs PM candidate. The strongly worded editorial said,Modis word rules in the BJP and his likes and dislikes are important for the party. The meeting has shown that the BJP cannot take major decisions by sidelining him. The editorial goes on to comment that while the party criticised the Congress-ruled government and expressed the need for a viable alternative,a series of steps needs to be taken to rebuild the NDA. The Sena has been a longtime BJP ally and a member of the NDA. During NDA rule at the Centre,senior Sena leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Manohar Joshi was Lok Sabha speaker. To remove the Congress from the Centre,the NDA has hardly any numbers. There is a need to bring back Bengals Mamata Banerjee,Tamil Nadus Jayalalithaa and Orissas Naveen Patnaik into the NDA they were once part of, said the editorial. It goes on to say that unless the BJP has support in big states,the party will not be able to form government at the Centre. Goa,Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are small states. Gujarat is completely under Modi and Yeddyurappa is moving around like a human bomb. Gadkaris challenge is to defuse these bombs in the party, it said.
